The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time Hardcover | Pages: 448 pages

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Title	:	The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time
Author	:	David Sloan Wilson
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 448 pages
Published	:	August 24th 2011 by Little, Brown and Company
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Sociology. Science. Environment. Sustainability. Psychology

Description Concering Books The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time

After decades studying creatures great and small, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson had an epiphany: Darwin's theory won't fully prove itself until it improves the quality of human life in a practical sense. And what better place to begin than his hometown of Binghamton, New York? Making a difference in his own city would provide a model for cities everywhere, which have become the habitat for over half of the people on earth.

Inspired to become an agent of change, Wilson descended on Binghamton with a scientist's eye and looked at its toughest questions, such as how to empower neighborhoods and how best to teach our children. He combined the latest research methods from experimental economics with studies of holiday decorations and garage sales. Drawing upon examples from nature as diverse as water striders, wasps, and crows, Wilson's scientific odyssey took him around the world, from a cave in southern Africa that preserved the dawn of human culture to the Vatican in Rome. Along the way, he spoke with dozens of fellow scientists, whose stories he relates along with his own.

Wilson's remarkable findings help us to understand how we must become wise managers of evolutionary processes to accomplish positive change at all scales, from effective therapies for individuals, to empowering neighborhoods, to regulating the worldwide economy.

With an ambitious scope that spans biology, sociology, religion, and economics, The Neighborhood Project is a memoir, a practical handbook for improving the quality of life, and an exploration of the big questions long pondered by religious sages, philosophers, and storytellers. Approaching the same questions from an evolutionary perspective shows, as never before, how places define us.

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ISBN:	0316037672 (ISBN13: 9780316037679)
Edition Language:	English

Rating Based On Books The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time

Ratings: 3.39 From 170 Users | 40 Reviews

Assessment Based On Books The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time

This book starts out promising, outlining the beginning stages of Wilson's Binghamton Neighborhood Project to "use evolution to improve his city." However, the book quickly spirals into a amalgamation of stories about how the author does research, what he reads, who he meets, what he finds interesting and inspiring, and, at times, is little better than stream-of-consciousness story telling. Undoubtedly, Wilson's prestige as a researcher and evolutionist and his previously well-written books

A lot of thought-provoking nuggets, but his chapters flit around in search of the next shiny object. As a city-dweller I hoped for some more practical info. Not disappointed in the read, just not sure I'll be able to synthesize his ideas and act.

Beware, this book has very little to do with neighborhoods, and even less to do with ideas about improving them. It does have quite a bit to do with evolution. I was disappointed that large swathes of the book had nothing to do with the Binghamton Neighborhood Project, and instead seemed to follow the author's travels in the year 2009.It took until page 386 out of 390 for an idea to be offered about how to improve a neighborhood (converting vacant land to parks). There was some information about

This book is not really what I thought it would be, but I found it interesting -- in a scannable sort of way. I first noticed it because of the lovely cover illustration by Gina & Matt. I'm also a sucker for any title with the words "neighborhood" and/or "project" in the title. This had both! It was only after that I discovered the book was actually written about my little, beleaguered home town of Binghamton, NY. Well, now, of course I needed to read this book!I've discovered that the older

I don't know how many of you will enjoy this. The writing is not perfect, and he's a bit of a wanderer when it comes to making is point. I was frequently feeling annoyed that he hadn't gotten down to the point. I guess I like my science books to be anecdote- and example-heavy rather than philosophical. This book tended towards metaphors and parables and only mentioned a few studies. I also came to the book with a lot of desire for there to be some "Before and After" style stories. These were



The initial chapters regarding evolution were readable and interesting. The initial neighborhood project field studies and how he proposed evolutional thought could benefit a community were also interesting. (Would have been nice to have visuals of the GIS data that was referred to as so fascinating and important) But then the book lost focus and became more about the authors opportunities and other experiences that came about because if the initial project. I read several chapters past this